Not a Happy Family: The gripping Richard and Judy Book Club 2022 pick, from the #1 bestselling author of THE COUPLE NEXT DOOR

Product Information

Fred and Sheila Merton are rich-rich and live a very nice life in upstate New York—until they’re gruesomely murdered in their home, after a disastrous Easter dinner with their three grown children. Now, each of the siblings has millions coming their way in inheritance, and an unspeakable sense of relief—Fred Merton was an emotionally abusive father and Sheila a neglectful mother. The problem is, the three siblings have never gotten along, and the police need someone to charge. Layer by layer, as we get the rotating perspectives of all three children, their increasingly suspicious spouses, the devoted housekeeper, and a meddling aunt, you’ll question who is framing whom, and what each person might be capable of.

Or are they? They each stand to inherit millions. They were never a happy family, thanks to their capricious father and neglectful mother, but perhaps one of them is more disturbed than anyone knew. Did one of them snap after that dreadful evening? Or was it someone else that night who crept in with the worst of intentions? It must be. After all, if one of your siblings was a psychopath, you'd know.The book was written in third person and it followed too many perspectives. I think all of the characters got their POV at some point.

The family in this story, the Mertons, although wealthy, are not a happy family. Their holiday dinners get very messy indeed. father doesn’t know that, but he might have guessed. He’s so cruel, she thinks, and so adept at finding vulnerabilities. And the house—she’s furious they’re selling it. It’s not because of the upkeep. He’s selling it so that she can’t have it. Just like he sold the business so that Dan couldn’t have it.” There are a few others who had a stake in the early demise of the Mertons, giving us plenty of suspects to choose from, and what was really unique was that almost ALL of them were women!

The truth is, they're all so much better off now that their parents have been murdered.The Mertons gather for Easter dinner, and it's a dreadful experience for almost everyone involved. The only one having fun is patriarch Fred Merton, who particularly enjoys bullying every member of his family, including his wife and his three grown children. So when Fred and his wife are gruesomely murdered later that night, no one is really surprised. Any of his children would gladly have done it, or was it someone else altogether who hates their father even more? The police want to know if they had any enemies, if anyone saw anything, and who has a motive. Umm, everyone!!